Disappointing Nationals

As the title says, it was a disappointing nationals.

I skated pretty well in my interp. number, but I had two other awesome skaters in my group, so I came in third out of three. I wasn't really disappointed by that because I was doing interp. for fun, and I know that I'm not the most charismatic skater out there. I did get one first place and one second place ordinal which was a good self-esteem boost. Interp. is just hard to judge, and I was in it for personal satisfaction. I did remember to look up during the number, so my coach would have been proud. And, I was happy because I only forgot where I was going once. I looked up at the audience which was waaaay up high on the interp. rink, and I almost forgot to do my split jump. I did manage to get myself together in time to do it though. Whew! Now that I'm back home, it feels funny not taking my bat to the rink with me.

I was really disappointed by my skate in Championship Gold Ladies. I did land my double toe loop for the first time in competition though! But, I singled the double salchow, and popped the last axel. I also had the lowest PCS (artistic) scores out of the whole group. I had a bad warm-up on the double salchow, so it was probably better that I singled it instead of falling. Missing the last axel was just plain stupid though. I just kept thinking, don't screw up the last jump, which, of course made, me over analyze it and screw it up. And, the PCS scores are just beyond my comprehension. I have no idea why they were so low. All I know is that I'm going to start working with my rink's guest choreographer/coach who does IJS programs for many upper level standard track skaters. And, next year I'll be doing spirals instead of footwork since I'll get a much higher level.

The good news is that some of the skaters/parents from my home rink came to volunteer and see me skate. My skating club was really supportive, and it felt great to be respected as an adult skater. The club did their whole bulletin board at the rink with pictures from AN. I also had tons of stuff to pick up off of the ice which was fun. Now, I have to find places for all of my new stuffed animals. :)

Oh, and the other good news is that my coach said that I can stay at the Gold level next year. No scary masters level for me just yet... I've apparently got some mental issues and artistry to work on. Hopefully I can redeem myself by skating better next year!